Brandon Carr said he and the Cowboys are ready to "take over the league"

Fort Worth Star-Telegram | May 19

Brandon Carr didn’t suggest putting it in a “3-inch headline” as former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson once did. But Carr wrote his headline Sunday night when he said he and the Cowboys are ready to “take over the league.”

“That’s going to be your headline,” Carr said knowingly.

To that end, Carr has lost 10 pounds and boasts that he is in the best shape of his life.

“I’m trying to take over the league,” Carr said while attending the team’s 10th annual Taste of the NFL to tackle childhood hunger. “I get emotional when I say that because I’m dead serious, man. I’ve been playing this game for six years now, and I’m just ready to make that jump and become that shutdown corner.”

Carr has played in two systems in his two seasons since signing a five-year, $50.1 million free-agent deal that made him one of the richest corners in the league. He and the Cowboys struggled mightily last season.

Dallas allowed the third-most yards in NFL history, and Carr gave up the third-most catches in the NFL (62) as well as 966 yards and three touchdowns, according to STATS, Inc.

With a new defensive coordinator in Rod Marinelli, Carr expects the scheme to allow the team’s corners to do what they do best. Carr, Orlando Scandrick and Morris Claiborne would to play more man coverage this season.

“That’s the plan,” Carr said. “As this thing gets on a run, we’ll see how it shakes out, but we just want to be in a position to win ball games. We felt like we disappointed ourselves last year. We’ve got a big chip on our shoulders. But last year is the past, and it’s time for us to clean the slate and get ready to play this year.”

The team's record, the defense's struggles and his own struggles have made for a rough first two seasons in Dallas for Carr, who spent his first four seasons in Kansas City. He now is trying to make the third year the charm.